Here begins the wrestling as taught by master Ott, the wrestling master of the noble dukes of Austria, may God have mercy on his soul.

Every wrestling must consist of three things. The first one is skill, the second one is speed, and the third one is the proper application of strength. Keep in mind that the best of them is speed as it prevents your opponent from countering you. It is also important to attack a weaker opponent first (vor ringen), an equally strong opponent at the same time as he attacks you (mit ringen) and a stronger opponent after his attack (nach ringen). When you attack first use your speed, when you attack at the same time as the opponent use your balance and when you act after your opponent pay attention to his knee bendings.

This is a teaching

When you want to wrestle with someone, make sure you always grab him with your left hand by the muscle of his right arm and with your right hand by the outer side of his left arm. Quickly push back his right arm, which you have grabbed by the muscle, grab lower on his left arm with your right hand and pull it forcefully towards yourself. When you have grabbed someone in this manner continue with whichever wrestling technique of here described you see fit.

First: When you have grabbed him in this manner – with the left hand by the muscle of his right arm and with the right hand low on his left arm – slide your left hand around his right arm, grab his right elbow from bellow and pull it towards yourself. Use your right arm – with which you have grabbed his left arm – to push away. This is how you twist his arm.

Another

When you have grabbed him as described before use your right hand to lift his left arm up, duck with your head under his left arm and pull it onto your neck. With your left hand, grab his left leg by the bending of the knee and throw him over your back.

Another wrestling from the first hold

Use your right hand to lift his left arm. Grab his elbow from bellow with your left hand and pull it towards yourself. Use your right hand to push his arm up and away from yourself. Spring with your left leg behind his right leg and throw him over your left thigh.

Another wrestling from the first hold

Firmly hold his right arm with your left hand and reach with your left hand to help your right (1). Hold his arm firmly with both of your hands and turn through (wendt dich durch) alongside his arm to his right side. This is how you defeat him from the back. Alternatively, you can turn through to your left side.

Remember this technique well as it breaks all wrestling derived from the first teaching described above

When someone grabs your left arm with his right hand and seeks to grab your elbow from below with his left hand to twist your arm or if he tries to help his right hand with his other arm and turn through alongside the arm, pay attention: if he is strengthening his right arm with his left or if he wants to grab your elbow with it, move your right arm to his right side above his left arm, grab him around the body, spring with your right leg behind his left leg and throw him over your right thigh.

Another wrestling

When someone grabs your upper arm with strength, holds you firmly and wants to push you, reach with your right hand from the outside over his arm, grab your right arm with your left hand and press his arm strongly onto your chest with both arms.

If he has his hand on your chest, spring with your right leg beghind his left leg, grab him by the knee bend of his left leg with your left hand and lift it up. Use your right arm above to push him away from you so that he will fall.

Another

If his hand and fingers are open when you have pressed his arm onto your chest, grab his fingers with your left hand, lift his arm above yourself on your left side and with your right hand on his elbow break his balance (nym Im das gewicht).

Another wrestling

If you wish to wrestle with someone and he grips your arm loosley, reach with your left hand over his right arm and grab his fingers or anything else. Lift his arm above you on your left side and break his balance with your right hand on his elbow.

This is how you counter it

If he does this to you and reaches with his left hand for your fingers trying to break your balance with his right hand, reach with your right hand under his left arm and around his body. Spring with your right leg in front of his legs and throw him over your right hip.

Or counter like this

If he has grabbed your left arm with his left hand and he intends to break your balance with his right hand, duck and set your left elbow on his waist. Spring with your left leg behind his right leg, grab his right leg by the bending of the knee with your right arm and pull it towards you. Push him away from you above with your left arm so that he falls.

Another

If someone has grabbed your left arm with his left hand, used his right hand to break your balance and then pushed your left elbow upwards, turn through with your head under it and reach with your right arm to the left side of his body. Spring with your right leg behind his right leg and throw him over your right hip. Or grab his leg with your right hand during the turning through and pull him to yourself.

Another wrestling

If someone grabs you by the arms and you do the same but he holds you loosley, thrust his left arm downwards with your right arm, grab his left leg by the bending of the knee and pull it towards yourself. With your left arm strike to the left side of his chest, so that he must fall.

This is how you counter it

When someone grabs you with his left hand by your chest from the front, grab his left arm with your left hand, and break his balance with your right hand by grabbing his elbow. Or thrust his left elbow straight up with your right arm and turn him away from you.

Another wrestling

When you have grabbed with someone by the arms and he holds you loosley, use your left hand to thrust his right arm downwards from above. Follow his arm on the way down and grab him behind. Hold him firmly and pull him to you. Grab him by the bending of his right knee from the outside with your right hand and you will throw him on his left side. This is possible from both sides.

Wrestling at the body

When you come to grips with someone so that you have one arm under his arm, and the other over his arm, and he has the same grip on you: if he is strong and presses you onto himself set the elbow of whichever arm is above on his thorat and push forcefully. He will have to let you go.

Another counter

If someone grabs you under your arms and presses you onto himself with strength do this to get free: push both of your thumbs into his eyes or into his lower jaw from below or into his thorat. He will have to let go of you.

Another wrestling at the body

If you grab someone so that you have one arm under and the other over and he grabs you in the same manner, put the arm, which is over, under his jaw on his neck and thrust away forcefully. Grab his leg by the bending of the knee with the other arm. Pull the leg towards yourself and this is how you will throw him.

When someone whishes to counter this technique and tries to break your balance with the elbow, pull the elbow down and push it away. Grab his leg by the bending of his knee with your other arm and throw him.

Another wrestling at the body

If you come to grips with someone in the manner described above and he grips you loosely, reach with the arm you have under to the other side, grab him by the bending of his knee and lift him up. Set your other arm on his neck and push him away so that he will fall.

Another wrestling at the body

If you grab someone so that you have one arm under his arm and the other over and he grabs you in the same manner, reach with the arm that is under upwards over his arm from the outside. Help your arm by grabbing it with the other arm and then twist away from him. He will fall and that is good.

Counter to the barrier (schrenken)

When you and your opponent have grabbed by the arms and you have your left leg forward, if he is clever and steps with his right leg behind your left from the outside to throw you over it, quickly pull your left leg back, grab his right leg and hit him in the chest above. So he will fall.

Another wrestling

When someone holds you across the shoulders from behind, lift up your arm on the side he has his leg forward and hit him in the elbow bending of his arm. With your other arm push his arm to the side. With it hold his arm, grab him by the thorat with the other one and thrust your leg into the knee bending of his exposed leg, which is turned towards you with the heel.

Another wrestling

With your right arm push his left arm away and grab him by the fingers of his right hand. Use your left arm, with which you have grabbed it before, to push it upwards and throw him on his back over your left thigh.

Another wrestling

Push his left arm away with your right arm and reach through between his legs. Grab him by the back of his jacket or by the arm, lift him up and with your left arm above push him away. So he will fall back onto his head.

This is how you counter it

When someone reaches with his right arm between your legs and grabs the back of your jacket, lean towards him and reach with both of your arms bellow his right arm from the outside. Lift his right arm up and he will be unable to throw you.

Another wrestling

If someone grabs you by your left arm with both of his hands and wants to pull you to his right side, reach with your right arm over his left arm and use it to grab him on his right side. With your left hand grab him by the bending of his knee.

Also prich das

This is how you counter it

Grab him around the neck from above and around the shoulders and lie down on him. Step far back with your legs, so that he will be unable to gain a hold on them and this is how you press him to the ground.

Another wrestling

If he stands with his right leg forward, pull his right arm with your left hand, kick him in the ankle of his right leg with your left leg and throw him to the ground. Or you can – in addition to the kick – use your right hand to hit him in the thorat and throw him onto his back.

Another wrestling

If he holds you loosley by the arms, reach with your left hand towards his right hand and grab him by the fingers. Hit him with the right hand and then grab him by the body under his right arm. Use your left hand to grab him by the bending of his knee.

Another wrestling

Grab him by the waist above his hip with your right hand, reach with your left hand from above across his right shoulder and grab him by the wrist of his right arm. Grip him firmly and lift him up. Use your right knee to lift his left knee and throw him in front of you.

Another wrestling

Grip his right arm with both of your hands and pull him to your right side. Step behind his right leg with your right leg, use your right hand to reach to his left side and throw him over your right hip.

Another wrestling

When someone goes with both hands under your arms, reach downards with your arms from the outside under his elbows and clasp your hands thogether. Forcefully lift his arms up and break them. When he has his arms under yours you can also strike him in the thorat and push him back.

Another wrestling

When you reach with both of your arms under his and he is light enough so that you can lift him, clasp your hadns firmly together behind his back, lift him up to your left side and turn with him. When you have turned, drop him down on your knee and break his back.

Another wrestling

When someone wants to go with his head under your arm and seeks to throw you over his back use the arm to grasp his neck firmly and press him to yourself. Lean with your chest onto him from above and use all of your weight to push him down.

Another wrestling

If someone grabs you firmly from behind when you have turned your back to him and you have your arms above his, quickly duck and lean forward to throw him over your head. Or use your hand to grab his leg below.

Another wrestling

When you grab someone with your left hand by the muscle of his right arm and you push it back: if he shoots his right arm from the outside across your left arm and presses your hand onto his chest with strength, hit his right side with the elbow of the same arm that is being pressed. Duck, spring with your left leg behind his right leg, use your right hand to grab him by the bending of his knee and throw him to the ground.

The translation is based on a transcription of the von Danzig fechtbuch (Codex 44 A 8 ) by Dierk Hagedorn of Hammaborg.